The Permanent Fund for Boston

Help Shape the Future of the City You Love

At the heart of everything the Boston Foundation has done over the last century—every grant it has made, every innovation it has supported, every cause it has championed—is its endowment, the Permanent Fund for Boston. Established through bequests left by hundreds of visionary and forward-thinking Bostonians since 1917, this essential fund fuels all of the Foundation’s work and provides the resources that have sparked positive change and enabled new ideas.

In addition, the Foundation offered early funds for most of the city’s neighborhood health centers and community development corporations. It also played a major role in the cleanup of Boston Harbor, helping to transform it from one of the filthiest bodies of water in the world to one of the cleanest urban harbors in America.

No one knows what the challenges of the next century will be, but we do know that the Boston Foundation will be there—adapting to the times and leading the way. And all of its work will be underwritten by the Permanent Fund for Boston.

Why Now? The Campaign for Boston

Boston stands at the pinnacle of the world today, but in the 1960s it was a decaying metropolis, hemorrhaging people, businesses and jobs to the suburbs and characterized by abandoned buildings, disinvestment and poverty. It wasn’t easy, but the people of Boston turned their city around. In order to thrive, however, a city needs to be constantly re-imagined. And it has to work for everyone.

The American Dream is fundamental to the DNA of our city and our country…and is at serious risk today, with too many children living below the poverty line and too many people finding Boston a hard place to live and make a living. The genius of America always has been in its commitment to widening access to success and holding out the prospect of mobility to more and more people. We are at a point now in Boston where this commitment must be renewed if our city is going to continue to thrive.

In 2015, the Boston Foundation will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary. This centennial moment offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those who deeply love Boston to strengthen the Foundation’s endowment fund, the Permanent Fund for Boston, in the process equipping the Foundation to continue its history of making vital contributions to the never-ending process of civic reinvention.

Why You?

The Campaign for Boston seeks to engage those who have made their homes and their fortunes in this beloved city. It seeks major bequests from individuals and families who have deep emotional ties to Boston and want to leave a permanent legacy to the city they love.

Ways to Participate

We invite you to explore the many ways you can leave a leadership bequest to the Campaign for Boston and help shape the future of the city you love. They include:

Naming the Boston Foundation as a successor beneficiary of your Donor Advised Fund or private foundation.

For More Information

For information about the many creative ways you can leave a bequest to the Permanent Fund for Boston—through stocks, retirement funds and complex assets—please contact Pamela Hurd at 617-338-3910 or email pamela.hurd@tbf.org.